In three years, the Italian Kitchen has served 75,000 miles of spaghetti, enough to go three times around the world, boasts this 1940s menu. It has a whimsical illustration of a chef lassoing the globe with a rope of pasta.

The Italian Kitchen was a small chain of four restaurants on Hollywood Boulevard, West Eighth Street and South Broadway.

This was just after WWII and the menu pointed out that some imported items might not be available – but that didn’t seem to matter much. Each restaurant had an expansive menu from pasta cooked to order to rabbit, sourced from the company’s own ranch.

The best-known Italian Kitchen was located next to the Pantages, the art deco theatre that opened in Los Angeles in 1930.

We loved the florid marketing on this menu which reads: ‘For centuries the Italians have specialized in serving a scientifically built-up repast, possessing all the features that delight the epicure’s taste; wide variety, digestibility and aesthetic appeal.

‘Tempting delicacies to tickle your palate at the start, excellent wines to further whet your appetite, followed by a solid main dish that will appease the most ravenous hunger and impart towards the end a feeling of complete satisfaction.’

Interestingly, pizza was not on the menu.

We believe the Italian Kitchen chain closed in the 1970s.